Egypt's Cairo International Airport has received the Airports Council International's (ACI) health accreditation certificate, becoming the sixth Egyptian airport to receive it due to the strict preventive measures implemented during the pandemic crisis. In press statements reported by the state-run Middle East News Agency on Friday, civil aviation minister Mohamed Manar said the accreditation is testament to Egyptian airports' commitment to implementing the highest level of preventive measures since the outbreak last year. In its attempts to save the tourism sector from the economic repercussions of the coronavirus, Egypt has been luring travellers to its hotspot destinations since the majority of tourism-receiving countries continue to place strict pandemic measures due to a surge in cases. Around 1.4 million tourists visited Egypt as of December since reopening its seaside resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, and Marsa Matrouh to international flights and foreign tourists in July after a three-month halt over the coronavirus pandemic, tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Anany said last month. Since September, travellers to Egypt have been required to present PCR certificates upon departure and arrival. Egypt hopes recent archaeological discoveries and a postponed opening of the mega Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), located near the Giza Pyramids, to this year will help it recover its key source of foreign currency. The country's tourism revenues fell by approximately 70 percent to $4 billion due to the pandemic in 2020, with the number of tourists falling down to 3.5 million from 13.1 million in 2019, El-Anany told Reuters in January.
